From this point on, bolded characters are in English
(*** edited on the 12th of March, 2024. Note for readers, but I also edited chapter 1 and 2. The changes made were basically just trying to make the conversations more natural, along with removing some weird monologue)
—-
The promised 5 months passed like nothing, between little outings with my parents, gradually learning how to read and write, growing up and enjoying being a kid again. I heard that toddlers shouldn't do any strenuous exercise until they are at least kindergarten-aged, so I decided against experimenting with that early on. If it would negatively affect my growth, it wouldn't be ideal.
I had a lot of free time, so I came up with a little preliminary plan. In the future, Obito would be the catalyst for much of the atrocities following the 3rd Great Shinobi war. The Akatsuki's formation into a terrorist organization, his support of Itachi during the Uchiha Massacre, the entire Nine-tails attack, Kirigakure's Bloody Mist period are all tragedies that Obito contributes to, and all of that doesn't even come close to the 4th Great Shinobi war.
Obito was a nice kid at heart, he was just caught up in the wrong circumstances at the wrong time in the wrong era. Rin's death is the key: if she lives, Obito will remain as Obito, and if Rin dies, Obito will become Tobi, or rather, the second Madara. This means that I'll have to find a way to, hopefully discreetly, prevent the events that lead to Rin's kidnapping and subsequent transformation into the Sanbi Jinchuuriki. If only it were an easy feat. How was I supposed to prevent a plan Madara crafted so deliberately?
Any plans would have to be put on pause for now, though. I was a little two year old kid. Even if I was academy aged, then there wouldn't be much I could do. I'll probably have to become a genin before I could even think of doing something, the problem was that I wasn't sure how old I was compared to Obito and his generation. I could be older, younger or the same age as them, either way, it will dictate how I should move forward.
It would be a good idea to log what I remember. A baby's brain develops rapidly and since I didn't know the mechanics of my reincarnation and my retained memories, it would be safer to write everything down before I forgot something important. As soon as I could properly grip a pencil, that is.
—-
Tou-san had started using his free time to drill me on chakra manipulation. He worked as an all-purpose handyman. He mostly did freelance or temporary contract work, so his work schedule was ever-changing. He did say, though, that he was a shinobi, so it made me wonder why he wasn't getting called in to do missions. Maybe he was retired?
"... Daisuke, concentrate. Really concentrate!" He huffed, "You can't just scrunch up your face, kiddo!" Tou-san reminded me, trying to keep a straight face. "Don't concentrate on manipulating your chakra, that will only distract you. Empty your mind of all thoughts. Feel your chakra. You won't get anywhere trying to use chakra before you're even properly aware of it. Manipulating your chakra means you have to know it inside and out." He whispered to me slowly, making sure I could comprehend every word.
Right, fundamentals first. If I stubbornly tried to manipulate my chakra before I was familiar with it, all it would do would slow down my progress and create problems in the future. That was why I couldn't manipulate it before, why I couldn't make much progress. I must've moved it by fluke before. That's how people learn new skills, though. First by fluke, then through practice until it becomes muscle memory.
I meditated for as long as I needed to, concentrating and clearing my thoughts, Tou-san watching me patiently. My chakra felt warm and thick, vaguely like blood. But I couldn't stop there. Tou-san told me to concentrate. Scrunching up my eyebrows, I focused on properly feeling it. On perceiving the foreign, yet intimately familiar energy flowing through my body, paying close attention to that flow.
Eventually I noticed a pattern of its flow. It was like a river, yet much more complicated. Its current constantly diverted itself according to the body's needs, and yet there wasn't a specific direction in its natural flow, but wait.
Perfectly manipulating this kind of complex system would be very difficult, and not everybody has the chakra control of Sakura or Tsunade. I think I get it. Rather than manually concentrating to allow chakra to build up, it was probably easier to divert its flow. That way, most of the process was handled by our bodies' natural chakra-related processes. Chakra control must then logically be one's skill at allowing precise bursts of chakra to flow into specific tenketsu of the body.
From there my concentration quickly broke. Too much thinking, probably. Tou-san looked very pleased with me. He must've seen how deep I got into meditation. "Tou-chan!" I cheered. "I got it! You don't manipulate chakra, you manipulate its flow!" I exclaimed excitedly.
Tou-san widened his eyes. "That's incredible, kiddo! You can already tell that much?" he asked with an unreadable expression that vaguely resembled pridefulness and surprise. I think I had my reincarnation to thank for that. If I wasn't so conscious of this new part of my body, it would probably be harder to focus on it.
Kaa-san walked in as I was jumping for joy with a bright smile. "My little sunshine is so talented! What do you say about a celebratory dinner tonight as a family? She offered, "This is surely something worth celebrating!" she added.
"How about some dango, Kaa-chan?" I asked hopefully. She beamed at me with a bright smile "As much as you want, Daisuke-chan!"
—-
Another year had passed. During that year, I was coached by my parents on chakra control. Tou-san had been correct: my increased awareness of chakra had helped me grow better and better at chakra control, and about 2 months before I turned 3, they got me started on the leaf sticking exercise. They only allowed me to do it when they were able to watch me, they didn't want to risk me running into chakra exhaustion while they were away. Good call.
In the last two years, they have been subtly talking about the dangers of using chakra and the risks of being a shinobi. Little hints about how difficult it was. About what one was expected to do and sacrifice. About how chakra could be transformed into lethal attacks.
I bet they could tell that something was off about me. The way they explained things was not how you would typically explain it to somebody so young.
"Listen, kiddo." tou-san said sternly. I gave him my attention. "Chakra is produced in our bodies and circulates around our chakra coils. There is a limited amount of chakra that each person has, that's why your kaa-chan and I are very particular about supervision." he explained carefully, making sure I understood.
I nodded and then paused, before raising my hand. "What's your question, kiddo?" he asked me patiently. "Tou-chan, how can we get more chakra?" I questioned, trying to see if there was something about the subject I didn't already know from the manga.
"That's a good question. Chakra is made up of our mental and physical energy merging together naturally in our chakra systems. To increase how much chakra we have, we have to grow our mental or physical energy. Physical energy can be increased through natural growth, exercise and strength training. Mental energy can be trained through things like studying, mediation, but also through maturing. This means that as we grow older, we will naturally gain more chakra, but we can also train hard to gain more. Each person's chakra increases differently depending on their genetics." tou-san clarified.
Growing up and maturing was a method to grow your mental energy, too? I suppose that I had already skipped a lot of that process, considering my reincarnation. I absentmindedly wondered if my chakra pool was higher than the others' in my age group because of that.
After listening to Tou-san's explanation, I worked on the leaf exercise again. He and Kaa-chan watched me carefully as I carefully directed a steady flow of chakra to my hand, attempting to infuse the leaf with enough chakra to make it stick without it exploding. After botching a few attempts at trying to keep the leaf on my head without making it explode or fall down, Kaa-chan suggested that I should try to gauge how much chakra the leaf could handle first, saying that "You don't learn to walk without crawling first, sweetie."
All of my previous attempts hadn't exactly worked, but I was close. My last few attempts had a leaf that stayed together for a few seconds. All I had to do now was lower the chakra flow into my hand. Squeezing my eyelids shut, beads of sweat forming on my forehead, I gradually and slowly infused the leaf with slightly more and more chakra so I could get a feel what it could handle.
After a little over the minute, the leaf's edges started tearing up. That was the limit, then. I took a new leaf and carefully worked my chakra into the leaf, ensuring that I didn't infuse more than before. After a few seconds, the leaf remained intact. I lifted it up to my forehead, and…
"I did it! Did you see that, Kaa-chan, Tou-chan?! I finally did it!" I screamed in delight, unfortunately for our poor neighbors. My parents snickered to themselves as they saw me excitedly run laps around the coffee table.
"Great job, Daisuke. Now you have to do that in about a second." said tou-san, grinning at me after I tired myself out, breathing for dear life on the floor. "Y-yes, Tou-chan…" I replied in between breaths, trying to catch my breath. I caught my parents smiling at each other with pride written all over their faces.
—-
Another year passed and my parents listened to my request and got me notebooks and pencils for my 4th birthday. It was about time that I started logging my memories of Naruto before I forgot something. I'd no doubt already forgotten plenty of minor details, but my memory of major characters and details still remained more-or-less fresh, because of all the thinking during the last 3 years.
It seemed like a no-brainer to write everything in English. I don't doubt that someone could decode English with some effort, but who would place importance in decoding gibberish in a child's notebook? It would be without merit.
While I was in the middle of finishing up a section of my log of Naruto, specifically the part about Sasori of the Red Sand, Kaa-chan came into my room.
"Daisuke-chan, Tou-chan and I have something we wanna discuss with you." she said, voice absent of any playfulness. Did something happen? This seems serious. I nodded silently before following her into the living room, where Tou-san was sitting down, waiting for me.
"Tou-chan, Kaa-chan, what's wrong?" I asked, looking up into their eyes. Tou-san slid his gaze over to Kaa-san looking for approval, before they nodded at each other.
"Daisuke," he started "As your parents, it's our firm belief that you should be able to do anything you want to do. "I don't know where your interest in chakra came from, but because of us, you already know what it means to wield chakra, don't you? What we are asking is, do you want to become a shinobi?" he asked, tone grim and serious.
I nodded without hesitation, fixing my steely gaze at them. I couldn't show them I was uneasy, and I couldn't back down here. If they thought I wanted to be a shinobi for a half-hearted reason, then they wouldn't support it. I would have to find a way to do it in secret, and without their guidance.
Kaa-san frowned at me, "When did you decide this, Daisuke-chan? The life of a shinobi is hard, and super dangerous. Take it from us. We are both retired genin." She paused for a few seconds, thinking, "I won't deny you from becoming a shinobi if that's what you truly want, but you have to prove to me that you're serious." she gently said, in contrast to her hardened eyes, which demanded an answer.
"I can tell that I'm not like the others my age," I began, looking down at my feet, "And I'm sure the two of you know that. I'm glad you listened to my selfish wish and helped me learn to use chakra." both of their eyes widened as I looked up and met their gaze.
"You also helped me learn about how dangerous it would be, becoming a shinobi, so I can't back down anymore. I want to have the opportunity to grow strong enough to keep us safe if the worst were to happen." I explained with determination.
"I get it, kiddo, but we have the village, we have the Hokage, we have the-" he reminded me before I interrupted him, "Tou-chan, this is a shinobi village." I explained. The two understood the implications of my words. As long as we lived in Konohagakure, there was always some kind of risk.
"I understand you're worried about me, Tou-chan, Kaa-chan, but please," I paused to bow, "Just watch me. If you think I'm not training enough, if you think I'm not taking it seriously, if you think I'm unprepared, you can stop me. Just please, give me this chance." I pleaded, voice turning shaky in the last sentence.
Silence followed for a little while, as my parents were both thinking. It was a tense silence, making it hard to hold my gaze. If they refused, I would train in secret somehow, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted their support. I wanted to become strong and make them proud by doing it. I clenched my fists as I waited for a response.
Kaa-san frowned at me while Tou-san stepped forward, patting my head, "We wanted you to be a civilian who would live a life without conflict," he started, voice full of remorse "but if this is what you want…" He looked me in the eyes as he came down to my level. "If you really want to become a shinobi, then we will support you with everything we have," he added, fixing a steely gaze into my eyes "and we will work you to the bone." he finished with a serious tone.
He turned to Kaa-chan with a tired expression.
"Honey, I think the kid's trying to steal my role." He huffed amusedly. "He'd better do a good job," she replied in kind with a smile. Tou-san approached me and bent down, grabbing my shoulders firmly. "You are not allowed to die, okay?" he declared quietly. With tears pricking the edges of my eyes, "Of course, Tou-chan." I agreed easily.
—-
The conversation I had with my parents was something I hadn't expected at all. It was a conversation I wasn't expecting to have for at least another two or three years. My expectation was to beg them around age 5 or 6 to enter the academy. But it looks like it worked out for the best, and something about their continued support for me only deepened my love for them in turn. They trusted my decision enough that they went against their own wishes to support me.
Since then, over the course of 5 months, tou-san and kaa-san started drilling me relentlessly on early academy curriculum and basic chakra theory, all the while making me practice chakra control. Walking on trees wasn't possible just yet, obviously, but I could hold several leaves in different parts of my body at once, and when I was really trying, I could stick my hand to surfaces for a few seconds. I wasn't at the age I could safely do things like strength training, but Kaa-san started teaching me taijutsu katas, stretches, and gave me little toy kunai so I could practice handling them.
My parents were leaning towards the idea of more moderate training, though. Things like cardiovascular exercises with low amounts of resistance was something I brought up to them, and after Tou-san asked a client of his who was a doctor about it, they said it was actually a good thing.
The following five months passed by almost too quickly. I'd managed to almost finish the log of what I remembered from Naruto by then. Since simply practicing taijutsu katas didn't involve chakra and wasn't really strenuous, they encouraged me to practice those without supervision. The one I was taught was Kaa-san's go-to style.
Her taijutsu kata was something very interesting to me, with a lot of emphasis on flexibility and counter attacks. I would probably have to modify it to suit myself at some point, though. There was something missing for me, and she had to correct my incorrect movements for a fair amount of time while I was trying to commit them to muscle memory.
After becoming pretty good at the leaf exercise, they warned me that it would be too much for my chakra reserves if I went to the next level, which was probably tree walking, and I trusted their judgment. No thank you, not risking that, as cool as being Spider-Man would be, I didn't want to risk excessive injury or exhaustion.
Some time later while I was practicing, Kaa-san ran into the room and hugged me tightly, "Guess what, Daisuke-chan?!" she asked, picking me up and spinning me around. "W-what?" I asked, mildly frustrated by the interruption. I was in the middle of something, you know!
I pushed down what might have been a frustrated sigh as I noticed how happy she looked. She was completely ecstatic."The doctors said that I'm gonna have a baby! You're gonna be a big brother!" she squealed at me, hugging me tightly.
A big brother? Me? I wasn't a big brother on Earth, I've had a younger sibling. A huge grin formed on my face as I breathed out in excitement. "When!?" I wondered, hugging her tightly. "I became pregnant 2 months ago, so in 7 more months. "I'm gonna be the best big brother ever!" I declared with glee.
"That's right, sweetheart! I'm sure you will. How about we go out to buy some clothes for your new sister?" she offered, shaking from excitement with the idea of having a daughter. "Sure, Kaa-chan!" I agreed. Kaa-san beamed with excitement, her eyes somehow shining despite their black color.
—-
Ever since Kaa-chan told me that we were having another family member, I bumped up my training just a little. Me and kaa-san started going to the park more in our free time, because in her words, "My growing little boy won't have enough space in his room to practice taijutsu soon enough!" It'd been 3 months since Kaa-san had become pregnant, and I'd been growing steadily.
As I was going through the taijutsu katas that kaa-san had introduced me to, I heard a vaguely familiar voice yelling in the distance.
"Oooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu!" shouted the unfamiliar voice, becoming louder and louder as it approached me. I turned towards the source of the screaming and saw a boy with hair down to his shoulders wearing a red scarf and a sleeved green jumpsuit running towards me.
He stopped right in front of me, digging his heels in to lose enough speed for him not to hit me. Frozen, I gazed at him with my mouth wide open. "Such perseverance, such determination, such dedication, such YOUTH!" he chanted excitedly. It's him! "I am Maito Gai! What's your name, youthful one?" he asked, in a nice guy pose.
I stared at him, bewildered, "Um, hi? I'm Uchiha Daisuke." I answered him awkwardly. Gai seemed to be a lot more… eccentric in person than in the anime. Gai regarded me with what looked like fire in his eyes. "Yosh, nice to meet you, Daisuke-kun! I have decided that we are now friends! And if someone as young as yourself is practicing with such dedication, how can I not train at least two times, no three times harder?! If I fail to do so, then I'll make 100 laps around this playground on my bare hands!" he exclaimed, immediately moving into the pushup position.
Someone as young as me? Really? As far as I knew, Gai looked like he may be 8 at most. We hardly even have an age difference! Hold on, though. If he's that young, then I have a better picture of the period I'm in. He should be around the same age as Obito, right?
"W-well Maito-san-" I said before being interrupted, "Gai! Call me Gai!" he demanded, still doing pushups. "Then, Gai, I suppose I could be friends with you?" I asked with a slightly awkward smile. "Great, Daisuke-kun! I must go and finish my training, but I will see you again!" he declared before running off at what seemed to be impossible speed for someone his age.
Huh, that just happened. I guess I've made my first friend here. Finishing my practice before walking back to kaa-san, she grinned at me playfully, "My cute little son has finally made a friend!" she announced loud enough for anyone around to hear it, trying to embarrass me on purpose. "I didn't even do anything. He approached me!" I explained, cheeks a little red with embarrassment.
"Besides, there's no rush to make friends. I can make friends in the academy, right?" I huffed. She was blowing this way out of proportion. We continued home, chatting idly until we reached our apartment.
"What was his name? You should get to know him better!" Kaa-san bent down at me and squeezed my cheeks as I averted my gaze. "Don't make that face! I just want you to make a friend!" she scolded. "I don't even know where he lives or where he trains…" I muttered. How was I even supposed to get in contact with Gai again? "We can go back to the park, maybe he will be here again… Or maybe he'll find you?" Kaa-chan suggested thoughtfully.
—-
And find me he did. Two days later, Gai showed up to my apartment, much to my parents' amusement. Seriously though, how the hell did he find out where we lived? He interrupted our breakfast, but Kaa-san and Tou-san didn't seem to mind, for whatever reason. "Come, Daisuke-kun! We have much to do today! We are going to train together!" he said, holding his right hand out.
My gaze flickered to my parents, who smiled at me and nodded. Looks like I have permission. "Wait, Gai, Let me finish my breakfast!" I said, running to the table to scarf down the food as quickly as I could. "My apologies, Daisuke-kun! It seems that I arrived earlier than expected! It is indeed important to eat to fuel one's youth!" he yelled once again, somehow sounding apologetic while being so loud. I looked at him to nod before turning to the rest of my food.
Tou-san handed me a water bottle and gave me some pocket change. "Don't get lost, kiddo," he paused, "and don't make too much trouble." he finished, ruffling my hair. I sent him a challenging grin before running off with Gai. "See you soon!"
As Gai and I were walking to the park, Gai said. "Yosh, Daisuke-kun! Today, we will run 100 laps around the playground! If we can not do that, we will run 200 the next day!" he announced. I smiled at him before nodding. Strength training wasn't completely safe at my age, but physical activity is recommended for every growing child. As long as I wasn't malnourished or dehydrating, I should be able to give it a try.
We got to the park and the first thing Gai did was lead me to a tall, well-built man who had a sleeveless jumpsuit much like Gai did. "Hello, youthful children! Are you Gai's new friend?" he asked, smiling at me with a glint in his teeth. "Yes, um... Maito-san?" I asked unsurely. Gai's father seemed to accept it with a nod. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Uchiha Daisuke," I said politely, bringing my hand out. ", and you are?" I respectfully asked.
"Oh, forgive my rudeness. I am Maito Dai, Gai's father!" he bent down as he shook my hand. Gai was waiting patiently, before turning to me and his father, "Yosh, Tou-san! Daisuke-kun and I have much to do!" he said, grabbing my wrist and walking away from his father. I waved hesitantly at Dai as we stopped at the playground. "First, Daisuke-kun, we will…"
As Gai instructed me on how we are going to train, I told him that I couldn't do strength training yet, since my parents and I were concerned about my health. He accepted the answer and training began.
—-
The training… technically went well. As I hadn't physically trained in this body before, I wasn't used to this kind of exertion. After practicing taijutsu katas with Gai for 30 minutes, we got started on the laps.
I knew endurance was probably the most important trait for a shinobi to have, so I took the laps seriously. The playground wasn't crazy big - a single lap was only about 50 or 60 meters, but I was a scrawny 4 and a half year old who had never really done this before.
As I bent on my knees on the 34th lap, Gai came up to me, "Come on, Daisuke-kun! Keep going!" He encouraged me, patting me on the back. "I… can't… keep up, … Gai..." I breathed out, trying to catch my breath. I hadn't felt this exhausted since my last life, it was a feeling I hadn't missed at all.
Sweat beading down my forehead, Gai looked me straight in the eyes. "Daisuke-kun, never say that you can't do something!" Gai said, pointing to himself. "But-" I said, before being interrupted. "I used to think I couldn't do anything. I failed the academy entrance exam the first time, Daisuke-kun," he then looked up to his father, who was watching them with pride in his eyes. "But tou-san told me to never doubt myself! If you can't do 100 laps, keep going anyway! If you can't run, walk! If you can't walk, crawl!" he said, probably repeating a lesson his father had taught him.
"Whether you can or cannot do something doesn't matter! If you have the energy to think about that, you may as well use it to do your best! That's how we get stronger!" he said, holding his hand out. "Let me help you up, Daisuke-kun," he said, smiling at me.
I took his hand, and got up with some difficulty. After a few breaths, I turned to Gai, "I think I'm ready. Let's do this." I said with determination in my voice. "Thanks," I muttered gratefully. Gai's hand shot up in a thumbs up as he gracefully continued, seemingly unaffected by fatigue.
—-
"Come on, Uchiha-kun! Just a little more!" encouraged Dai, watching me barely cross the finish line we'd agreed on 2 hours ago. After I managed to cross 100 laps, with plenty of breaks, I nearly collapsed, but Dai picked me up and placed me on a nearby bench. He handed me my water bottle wordlessly. I must've looked like I'd just reached an oasis in the desert, I chugged the water as quickly as I could.
My legs were burning, and they felt wobbly like jelly. I'd walked the last twenty-something laps, and yet my body, not used to this kind of exercise, did not like the training one bit. Countless deep breaths gasped from me as father and son watched me with a smile on their faces. My throat hurt from breathing and my body was sluggish from using so much energy. Physically, I felt like shit, but mentally? I was over the moon. I'd done it, I was able to push through today, even if this level was pretty basic for my new friend.
"Are you hungry?" Gai asked, looking concerned but also pumped. "Y-yes." I responded quickly, feeling no shame at all as my stomach rumbled. Luckily for me, we wouldn't have to go to a restaurant and wait for food. Dai had packed lunch, and let me have some. After eating lunch, Dai and Gai took me home, and I was too tired to actually talk to my parents. "I'm home!" I said hurriedly, before racing to the couch and falling asleep immediately. I didn't wake up for about 3 hours, and got jumpscared by Kaa-san staring closely at my face.
"... I'm hungry," I said, drowsy from my nap.
Notes:That's the end for this chapter, It's a bit longer than the other ones. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to comment or review. Thanks for reading!